I hope that you are all doing well and today has been a pleasant day so far. My day has been pretty productive. I woke up, had breakfast, wrote some e-mails and this blog, and will be going to read background information for my Master's shortly.
As promised, I want to tell you, my fellow readers, what happened on Monday night on my well planned trip back from Copenhagen. A small but crucial mistake that I made, turned my well-planned trip into an adventure and a little bit of compromising and a loooooong (but nice) bike ride home! :-)
So it all began at Stockholm Central Station. My itinerary was the following:
Copenhagen -> Stockholm Central Station
Stockholm Central Station -> Upplands Väsby
Upplands Väsby -> Uppsala.
I know that this itinerary seems a little inconvenient as I had to switch trains three times, but it was a cheap ticket and late at night, that's why I booked it. I prefer to travel later during the evening as the trains are emptier and there is more space to spread out.
I got off my train from Copenhagen at Stockholm Central Station. I had to walk to another track to catch the 00:20 train to Upplands Väsby. I had my travel bag with me and my bike.
I walked to the right track where I was supposed to catch my train. It was around 00:12 and a train pulled in. Of course not knowing which train I should take, and my train also leaving the same track at 00:20, I got on the train. NOOOOOO!!!! I didn't realise that instead of going to Upplands Väsby, the station that I had to go to, I was on my way to the more western town of Bålsta. Of course before my litte excursion, I had never heard of Bålsta. Not like this town is really large or really apparent on maps! :-) (No offense to people from Bålsta).
Anyways, I got off the train and realised that I was not in Upplands Väsby. I then asked security guards where I was. They were extremely friendly and really helped me alot. Long story short, it was the last train and I ultimately had three options:
- Wait in the cold for 4.5 hours for the first morning train
- Take a taxi home for around €80 (waaayyy to expensive for a student!!!)
- Build my bike together, pump up the tires and ride the 40 Km home!!!! :-)
In the end, I think biking was the best idea. I got home in less than two hours, the roads were good and it being 02:00, I met about 5 cars along the entire 40 Km of riding. It was cheaper than taking the taxi and warmer and faster than waiting for the next train in the morning. Below is my route:
http://maps.google.de/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Ultuna,+Uppsala,+Schweden&daddr=Ulleviv%C3%A4gen&geocode=FRTKkAMdlWQNASnHT19xZslfRjERDs9V3WYvgQ%3BFTr1jAMdJn8LAQ&hl=de&mra=ltm&sll=59.69009,17.629885&sspn=0.355543,0.874786&ie=UTF8&ll=59.568419,17.560272&spn=0.356832,0.874786&z=10
So, a little word of advice, PLEASE TAKE THE RIGHT TRAIN!!!! :-D I thought it was the right train, but it wasn't. TAKE THE RIGHT TRAIN!!!!
Anyways, have a pleasant day and take care!
Julian
Hi. I am a student in my second year of college looking to study abroad in Sweden for the up-coming academic year. While searching for programs I came across your blog on the Swedish University of Ag. Science website. I thought I would leave a comment because I am actually from Ithaca NY and I am a rower too.
ReplyDeleteI am in the process of applying to study at Uppsala University where I will focus my studies on cultural and nutritional anthropology and Swedish studies.
Do you enjoy living in Uppsala? How does it compare to Ithaca?
Den falschen Zug nehm ich sogar manchmal in meinem Heimatland selbst (aus Versehen natürlich), in Schweden wird mir das bestimmt erst Recht passieren :D
ReplyDeleteAber gut, dass du dein Fahrrad dabei hattest, hat man ja auch nicht immer :)
hey avery
ReplyDeletein one word here is too cold in comparison to there but u can look at as new experience!
@Avery:
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, sorry it took me this long to get back to you. I've been somewhat preoccupied with my master's thesis that I'm currently working on.
That sounds awesome that you want to come here. I definitely think going abroad is always a great experience, not only academically speaking but also with meeting new people (different cultures, views, etc.) and professors.
I don't know much about your program of studies, but it sounds good. Of course my area is forest biodiversity but your program sounds really interesting.
It's also cool that you row! What do you row? Sculling or sweep rowing and starboard or port? I'm a starboard (generally seven seat) but also scull very frequently. :-)
So you ask about how Uppsala compares to Ithaca. In my opinion Ithaca and Uppsala are quite similar in many respects. Basically Uppsala's weather is more or less fully comparable to Ithaca's weather. The summers are cooler and less humid here. Winters are approximately as long and cold. In general, the city itself (Downtown Uppsala) reminds me very much of Downtown Ithaca and Collegetown. Uppsala has student nations (sort of fraternities, but without all the rushes, commitments and BS) where you can party and have a good time. Parties generally end pretty early here, but there are plenty of house parties to find. Once you make friends here you'll find it easy to find a party.
The city itself is small but very nice and has quite a bit of charm, despite its small size. There are many cafés and parks around here. During the summer Uppsala is very nice. Even then it really reminds me of Ithaca with it's small size, surrounding suburbs, proximity to Stockholm (ok NYC is somewhat far from Ithaca) and it's lake Mälaren (similar to Cayuga Lake).
You will be able to row and train here at the SLU campus. We have our boathouse and training house here.
Personally, I like living here. It's pretty relaxed and education is good here. I think you'll find your uni classes much more relaxed here than in the US. What school do you attend in the US?
Negative things about Uppsala and Sweden are the ridiculous cost of alcohol if you like to party sometimes (although the student nations are very affordable). Also, I prefer larger cities, but it's nice here. I think it's cool to be here for one year, but I'm also looking forward to moving to a larger city.
I hoped that I helped you a little bit with answering your questions. I think that you'll find Uppsala relatively similar to Ithaca due to its size, landscape surroundings, university town status and parties.
I really enjoy the variety and number of new students I meet here. It's always fun to hang out. I think you'll enjoy it here. It's great to come here, but after a year I think most people are ready to move on.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR ENDEAVORS AND SEE YOU ON THE WATER SOMETIME? :-)
If you have any further and more specific questions, please feel free to ask me!
Julian
@Bibi:
ReplyDeleteJa, echt, das ist ja sowas von ärgerlich, besonders wenn man mit dem letzten Zug fährt, und man in irgendeinem schwedischen Kaff landet!!! ;-D
Naja, davon hab ich auf jeden Fall gelernt zweimal zu gucken, mit welchem Zug ich fahre! Nochwas hab ich gelernt. Fahrräder sind übergeil und eine billige Versicherung oder besser gesagt "last resort" um in solchen Situationen nach Hause zu kommen! :-D
Aus welcher Region in Deutschland kommste denn? Ick komm aus Berlin, die Muddastadt! Alles jute und hauste, wa? :-)
Julian
@Homayoun:
ReplyDeleteYeah, man, that's one way of putting it! It's pretty cold here, but it really compares to Ithaca, NY weather. There winters can also last from end of October to end of April! I know man, too long for me. I also need a warmer climate with sunshine and a beach!!! I should move to the carribbean! Take care man, thanks for your comment again, and it was good meeting you at the store the other day! Have a good one, man! :-)
Julian
Gut, dann werde ich irgendein mobiles Fahrrad mal direkt auf meine Besorgungsliste schreiben wenn es dann irgendwann los geht ;)
ReplyDeleteIch komm aus NRW, Xanten. Ist ca. ne Stunde von Köln weg. Aber in 13 Tagen geht's erstmal für 5 Monate nach Island, Deutschland wird langweilig :)
Willst du eigentlich in Schweden bleiben wenn du mit der Uni fertig bist?
:)
Jo, das mit dem Fahrrad ist sehr empfehlenswert. :-)
ReplyDeleteCool, ja hab mal vor ner Weile was von Xanten gehört, war aber noch nie da.
Das hört sich ja gut an, Island. Ich wollte da auch mal immer hin, hab's aber finanz- und Planungstechnisch nicht hinbekommen.
Nein ich werde nicht in Schweden bleiben wenn ich hier fertig bin. Mir gefällt's hier ganz gut aber auch andererseits nicht so. Ich brauch mehr Stadt und das Klima mag ich auch nicht sehr. Alkohol und Partymachen ist mir hier zu teuer und die Schweden sind mir ein etwas zu ruhiges Volk. Brauch mehr Action. Bin aber am überlegen wo ich hiernach hinziehe. Glaube entweder nach Deutschland oder Dänemark.
Ich muss aber auch alles etwas realistisch ansehen. Ich spreche kein Dänisch oder Schwedisch und man brauch wirklich diese Sprachen in diesen Ländern, sonst kommt man nur schwer mit Arbeit voran. Beste Option glaube ich, ist wieder nach Deutschland zurückzugehen. Ich könnte theoretisch diese Sprachen lernen, aber hab wiederum keine Lust ein Lebensjahr zu "verschwenden", um die Sprache zu lernen.
Naja, genuch jelabert. Was sind so deine Pläne? Wir sollten uns mal auf'n Bier treffen, da kann man all die Lebenssachen gemütlicher besprechen! :-)
Peace! :-)